Will Smeed hits the Hundred's first hundred to get Birmingham Phoenix off the mark
Henry Brookes takes 5 for 25 as defending champions Southern Brave slide to heavy defeat
Henry Brookes takes 5 for 25 as defending champions Southern Brave slide to heavy defeat
That's all from us tonight. We'll be back tomorrow for the first double-header, with Oval Invincibles vs Northern Superchargers. The men's match comes first at 3pm, then the women's at 6.30pm. Thanks for tuning in.
Moeen Ali: "The crowd certainly helps. We like batting here. You want to be performing and winning so if you're bringing in a few youngster while you're doing that, it's even better. The pressure's not always on you to perform. We tried at Trent Bridge but the toss was big there. It was just keeping calm and not panicking. We've got match-winners in the team. [Brookes] He's had a couple of tough years but everyone knows he can bowl. It's about relaxing him and letting him enjoy his cricket. We saw throughout the Commonwealth Games that the fans are amazing here."
Smeed is the Match Hero: "It was a great feeling coming off to the applause but to win was the main thing and the atmosphere was amazing. Edgbaston is known for the crowd and the atmosphere and it lived up to its name. The more I play, the more I can learn. T20 is a strange game. It was nice to get the extra runs because I've been just short a few times. That was a great team performance. Shout out to Brookesy, that was epic. Hopefully we can get on a bit of a roll now."
9.10pm: Comprehensive victory for Phoenix. Two stunning performances from young players: Will Smeed becoming the first player to score a hundred in the Hundred, then Henry Brookes running through one of the competitions' best batting line-ups with a brilliant five-for - a couple of catches off his team-mates to boot.
TS Mills b Richardson 0 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
CJ Jordan b Richardson 15 (8b 1x4 1x6) SR: 187.50
Phoenix batter downplays efforts, suggests Henry Brookes deserved match award
Henry Brookes takes 5 for 25 as defending champions Southern Brave slide to heavy defeat